Improvement in fire-alarm



Legg

,tant

CHARLES DION', OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Letters Patent No. 88,698, dated Apr/il 6, 1869;

IMPROVEMENT To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES DION, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Alarm Annunciators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification,l and in Which- Figure l represents a front or face view of a firealarm annunciator, constructed in accordance with my improvement and Figure 2, an interior front view of the same, 'the outer face of the case being removed.

Figure 3 represents an inverted plan of' certain details detached, for operating the aununciatbr, to indi- .cate the particular place, or room in which the tire is,

and

Figure 4f., a top view g of' the same, with wires attached.

SimilarI letters of reference denote corresponding parts.

My invention consists in a combination with a dial, index, or pointer, and alarm-bell, or its equivalent, of a series of separate weights and lever operating the index and bell, so constructed as that on release oi' any one of the weights, by letting loose, or cutting the wire (by which they are supported, and connected with a corresponding number of devices, or rods operating by expansion,) it will not only sound the afarni, but also move thc index to a given sign, or mark, indicative of thel room, o r place in which the iire is.

Referring tothe accompanying drawing- A represents the case ofthe ann unciator, which may be located in any convenient placefor proper exposure of' the index, or pointer B, on the dial G, and sound of an alarm, or bell, D, that may be struck bya hammer, a, operated through any suitable mechanism, or clockwork, ou letting loose an escape-lever, o r catch b.

E is the lever, or lever-frame, that serves, through the instrumentality of any one of a series of weights; as hereinafter described, to let loose the catch b, for sounding the alarm, and also, through the medium oi suitable connecting-devices, for actuating the index.

This lever-frame E is pivoted on either side, as at c,

to any suitable upright, or frame in the case, and is so constructed as that, if left free to work on its pivots, it assumes the position represented for it by black lines in fig. 2, which is its set, or normal position, or place of rest on a suitable stop.

This self-adj ustment may either be effected by weight or spring, and is here shown as produced by giving it a greater-weight on the one side of its fulcrum.

Thus situated, said lever-frame has no action upon the catch b to soundthe alarm, and serves to hold the index, or pointer B, at O, on the dial.

To operate the lever-frame E, in order that it may act upon the catch b, to sound the alarm and move the index as required on the dial, any one of 'a series of separate weights, Fl F2 F3, and so on numerically, pivoted, say at cl, is caused to fall and bear against a crossbar, e, to the lower, or bent shorter arms, or portion oi the lever-frame, in such manner as to depress and work inward said lever, orbent shorter portion, say as represented by red lines in iig. 2.

The index, or pointer B, is operated in such motion of the lever-frame E, by or through a rack, G, carried by said frame, and serving to turn a pinion, I, fast on the index-shaft s.

According to the amount of tip thus given the leverframe E, will the index be more or less moved, so that by constructing the several weights, from Fl up to Fm, according to the number employed to act, indropping, with varying ranges, as it were, on the lever-frame, will the index be moved to different figures or marks on the dial, thus the dropping of the weight F1 will adjust the index to No. I on the dial, dropping of the weight Fz to No. II, and so on up to the last weight, here shown as F, which, in dropping, acts upon the lever-frame to adj ust the index to No. XII; but, though the position of the index, by the droppingl oi either of the separate weights, is changed, each and all of them in dropping similarly release the catch to sound the alarm.

To accomplish this control of the index by the several weights, in their separate operations, said weights are variously notched on their lower edges, which, in falling, strike the cross-bar e, said notches progressively increasing in length or backward run, so' that their backs f fz f3, and so on, by acting as stops to the crossbar c, limit the tip of the lever-trame, to move the index to different positions on the dial, as required.

These several and separate weights, F1 to F, are hcld from action on the lever-frame, to sound the alarm and move the index, by separate wires, Jl J 2 J 3, and so on, which wires, by suitable bell-cranks, or their equivalents, are arranged to run to the separate rooms, or places it is required to connect with the annunciator,

device which, acting by the expansion of a metal, or otherwise, serves to let loose the wire holding up its respective weight, operating the lever-frame, as described.

Thus each of the wires, J1 up to J 12, may be connected to tire-alarms inv each of the separate rooms, or places, constructed to operate substantially on the principle described in Letters Patent, No. 53,7 57, of the United States, issued to me on April 3, 1866, but dispensing with the falling-weights operated by the alarmlever, to act upon the bell-wire, the annunciator-weights ing such other weight, or weights unnecessary.

however, may be used for releasing the annunciatorweight Wires, on the temperature of the room being and are there connected to any suitable apparatus, or

Fl to F12, at the opposite end of the wires, here render- Auyother suitable apparatus, or expansion-device,

raised by re therein. Thus the mere expansion in the room of the Wire which holds up the annunciator' Weight may suffice. p

Theweights in this annnnciator, itvill be seen, are not operated by pull of the wires on them, which is, in many respects objectionable, and, apart from other special devices, would not provide for sounding` the alarm, in case ofthe wires snapping, or being cut, but, by operating on the Weights through release of the wires, this is provided for.

Insome cases, it may be desirable to arrange-the dial and index, byv extension of its shaft, or different arrangement of the index-rack and pinion, ataldistance from the annunciator-Weights and lever-fiume operated by them, as, for instance, on the outside of a wall, or building, while the weights and lever-frame are on the inside thereof; also, to similarly arrange the bell on the y forth.

C. DION. Witnesses: Y

A. LE CLERC,- AR'rHUR Knmmn. 

